A SHROPSHIRE LAD IN OHIO BY ROBERT F. HANCOCK
I
was not sure what to expect when a plain cardboard box was laid in front of me in the Museum’s examination room. I was told that it contained the uniform of a young man from England who had served in the U.S. Army during the war. I admit I was skeptical.
When I opened it, I was more than just a little pleased. There before me was a dark blue uniform jacket (photo, right) worn during the war. It looked as if the original owner had just taken it off without even bothering to clean the mud stains off the sleeves. Here was a little piece of history. The soldier’s descendants – the people who had brought the box for examination and donation – not only had preserved the uniform carefully, but they had
PHOTO BY ROBERT F. HANCOCK
Over the years I have grown cautious with my expectations when someone says he has a Civil War uniform. I have seen too many post-war veteran’s coats or National Guard uniforms which, after having been passed down for a couple of generations, had transformed into the uniform worn by great-great somebody at the Battle of Gettysburg or Shiloh or some other place. So it was with an impending sense of disappointment that I approached the box.
T H E A M E R I C A N C I V I L WA R M U S E U M 3 3
